We're All Mad Here

     Crane watched from his spot on the chair as Jervis paced back and forth in front of him. The man’s demeanor had taken a swift downturn as the sun outside had changed. He wondered if it affected moods too, but something told him that his hypothesis was incorrect. Unless Jonathan was immune, that couldn’t be correct. His mood had been stable throughout the day, not wavering much. Jervis, however, had grown erratic the longer that the psychologist observed him. 

      Pushing himself out of the chair, the tall man stood up, making his way over to Jervis. “You will not flop.” Noticing the increase in the other’s pacing, Jonathan reached out an arm, taking hold of the mad man’s wrist. He pulled him towards his figure. For a moment, he debated whether this would be a good idea, eventually deciding he didn’t have any other ideas before leaning down and pressing his lips against the other’s. 

   he barley even noticed that jon had risen from his chair and made his way closer. jervis’ mind was racing frantically and it was all the hatter could do not to just scream and make everything go away. those thoughts fell away, however, when he felt a hand grasping his wrist and all of a sudden jervis found himself being closer towards the taller male. confusion flickered in his eyes as he tilted his head up, ready to ask jon what the issue was. at least, that was before he felt lips pressing to his and it was like everything else faded away in that instant.

   jervis was suddenly reminded of just how badly he had been wanting to kiss jon for some time now. eyes falling closed, the hatter found himself all but melting into the kiss, free hand moving to grasp at the front of the other’s shirt tightly. he had tried desperately to push away all of these desires and feelings whenever it came to his dear scarecrow, but in this moment it felt like they had completely bubbled over until he was left with nothing but want. unsure how long this moment would last, jervis took the opportunity to deepen the kiss as his hand continued to clutch hopelessly at jon’s shirt.

   today was one of those days. one of the days that his hatter episodes tended to be worse, where jervis tended to be more unhinged than he normally was. his head was too loud, everything was too loud, and he just wanted it all to finally stop. pacing around the room and muttering softly, he could feel himself beginning to slip all over again. this whole ordeal had begun the moment jervis had decided to hypnotize some poor soul just for the fun of it, and while that hadn’t been an issue, he’d found something had been missing. that extra little oopmh of control that he normally had over them from peering into their very souls and plucking their best kept secrets and darkest desires. it was... gone. and that had made the hatter snap. 

Jon: You could say that, sure. Wonderland has taken over my whole day.

Jon: It shouldn't. Let's talk about Alice instead.

Jervis: Oh, I do love whenever you follow me down the rabbit hole!

“I’m into any option that shuts you up.” He sassed right back a bit of venom to his tone. He scoffed when Jervis brought up his doctorate. “You do realize half of the inmates in Arkham have doctorates. You’re not special.” He glared into Jervis’s eyes, unblinking. He wanted to show him that it didn’t matter to him what he could do. He was on the same level of any criminal he faced. Before he could say anything else to Jervis, the man grabbed him and pulled him towards him. Their lips colliding very suddenly together. A burst of electricity ran through his body in an instant and it took him a moment to even react. Shaken by the contact. The bite on his bottom lip cleared his confused mind and he pulled back in a clumsy stumble. Reaching a hand up to touch his now bleeding lip before winding back and slamming his fist against the other man’s face. “Fuck you.” He hissed to him, part of him itching to hit him again as he shook out his stinging fist. “You- You despicable little…” He couldn’t even find the words to finish his insult. 

    resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the predictable responses was more difficult than jervis had thought it would be. that was always how it was whenever it came to jim, it always felt like you were arguing with a brick wall that would never give. still, all of this was absolutely worth it just to catch the other completely off guard and get a bit of an upper hand for the moment. maybe there was a bit of a small perk in knowing that jim lingered in the kiss a bit longer than even jervis had expected, which only made him even more curious. that hadn’t been expected, but oh did the hatter absolutely make a mental note of it and save the thought for later. once the moment was broken, he was more than expecting some sort of retaliation and it came in the form of a fist to his face, jervis stumbling back as manical, unhinged laughter began to spill out. “what’s the matter, huh?? pissed off you liked it??” the laughter only continued despite the pain from the punch, flashing jim a mischievous grin. oh, yes, he was pleased with himself. “you know, you actually tasted surprisingly good. if you want more, i wouldn’t say no. and don’t pretend otherwise, i know. all of your little deepest darkest secrets and desires. i’ve been in your head before.”

Babs frowned when Jervis pulled out the pocket watch. Surely Jervis wouldn’t use that on her – they were friends – and then she heard the ticking. It was like that blissful moment between waking and sleep, when she hadn’t fully broken the surface into consciousness. She swayed slightly in her seat, her hands falling limply onto the tabletop. “Jervis?” she said. It sounded like her voice was coming from very far away, and it didn’t seem connected to her at all – like she was hearing someone speak from upstairs. “The clock…the ticking…” Her head tilted, her eyes distant and misty. She vaguely recalled that she had once been – had once often been – in pain, but now that was gone, its absence almost shocking if not for the dreamlike quality wrapped around her mind. “I hear it,” she said softly. “I’m listening…” 

   there was clear pleasure in his eyes at the sight of babs falling under his spell, just as he had planned. no one could ever resist no matter how strong willed they believed themselves to be -- they would always eventually succumb. it was, after all, why jervis was a master of hypnosis even without his mind control technology. “very good, you’re doing so well,” he murmured, voice gentle and reassuring, the authority and control still lingering behind his every word. “now, you are going to realize your thoughts of leaving jon’s experimentation were absolutely foolish and continue along with it until you’re no longer of any use to him. you won’t question it again. now, i am going to count down from three and you’re going to wake up from your slumber. you will remember none of this, merely assume it was a bit of a faint spell. three, two.... one.” clicking the pocket watch shut, jervis carefully tucked it back into his suit pocket, feigning a look of concern. “my darling, are you alright?? you look quite out of it.”

Jim glared at him, “A muzzle wouldn’t be such a bad idea. It’d look great on you.” He said, an edge of sarcasm to his tone. He knew that with his hypnotism he could get out eventually. Someone would slip up and not wear the headphones that they had to when guarding him. “You know what the good part is, and as inevitable as you think your escape is your capture is just as inevitable. You’re not exactly subtle, Jervis. The only thing that keeps you separate from the rest of the nuthouse is that watch of yours.” He said, gritting his teeth before adding fearlessly and looking him right in the eyes. As though he was daring him. “Bite me.”

Jervis seemed genuinely hurt by her words, and for a fleeting moment, Alice felt guilty. But why should she? He’d kidnapped her, made her wear that stupid, blue dress. He wanted them to become the fantasy he’d been living, and forced her to do things she’d never dreamed of doing. He told her he loved her and wanted to keep her in Wonderland, and she took a couple of steps back, holding her head. Images of white rabbits and cats with grins too wide flooded her mind. A man in a top hat too large for his head grinned at her as she closed her eyes. Shaking her head a little too vigorously – so much so that it made her dizzy – she opened her eyes and looked at him again. “Love isn’t always kind and gentle, Jervis. Love can be cruel and toxic. Just because you love me, it doesn’t mean you’re thinking about me and what I need. I’ve only just broke free of Wonderland, after Hugo Strange sent me there. I don’t want to go back.”

“While the boss is awhile the kids shall play!” she skipped beside him. “I’m feeling awfully generous today, you choose!” she grinned. Jervis didn’t treat her like she was beneath him, not like the Titans or those at the h.i.v.e. He didn’t treat her like a pet either like Slade. “Who’s going to stop us anyways, why don’t we start with downtown or the park watch some trees topple over!” she suggested. 

Jerome gave a little shrug. Sometimes he still did bad stuff, but usually when he was around Punchline or another bad influence. “My mom has a way of convincing people to do what she wants to do,” he said. “You don’t wanna mess with her, dude.” He giggled and shrugged. “It’s fun sometimes,” he said. “Her friends babysit me because I can’t be trusted on my own. Dick Grayson gives me juice boxes.”

    clearly he wasn’t going to get anywhere with this. letting out a loud, rather dramatic sigh, jervis figured it be best to drop the matter. no worries, he could always find another one of the rogues to help him out with his future plans. that shouldn’t be too hard. “i like to think i’m able to convince anyone to do what i wish, considering that is my specialty.” he had no interest in messing with her, though. jerome was his friend and he was hardly going to push those buttons. “oh, well, juice boxes obviously make everything better. i couldn’t complain in that case. are you content, at the very least??”

Babs bit her lip, her hands wrapped around the mug of tea in front of her (of course she had prepared tea when Jervis arrived). But she knew Jervis was one of the few people she could tell this to who wouldn’t be angry with her. “Jon has been testing his fear gas on me,” she said. “At first I just – I didn’t care what it was doing to me. And I liked feeling…needed.” She took a sip of her tea and sighed. “I can’t keep doing this to myself,” she said. “I…I matter, I have to start treating myself that way.” The words sounded strange coming from her own mouth and frankly she only had a vague idea of how to start. “I just worry Jon isn’t going to be happy.” She paused. “And I’ve been feeling so lightheaded lately,” she added, almost as an afterthought. “I have no idea why. And even a little forgetful.” 

    pausing as he lowered the cup of tea, jervis couldn’t say he was overly surprised that babs had chosen to agree to help jon test the fear gas at least for a little while. after the last experimentation that the hatter had been privy too, he couldn’t help but realize just how upset his darling scarecrow would likely end up being should he lose such a suitable test subject. that couldn’t come to fruition no matter what was being said. besides, jervis had come here for a clear reason and this would be the perfect opportunity for him to test it out and see the progress that was being made. “but of course, my dear, i completely understand. you seem to be going through so much as of late, you’re going to give yourself such a fretful fate.” setting his cup down, jervis moved to pull his watch free from his suit pocket, clicking it open as he feigned looking at the time. “do you hear the sound of the ticking?? tick tock goes the clock.” his gaze shifted to look babs directly in the eyes. “listen to the sound of the ticking clock, allow it to wash over you.”

Jon: I'm not speaking in riddles. I leave that to Ed.

Jon: It's not a matter of who you would tell. It doesn't matter.

Jervis: Well, you're not making much sense either. Not that anything ever really does. Have you fallen into Wonderland too today?

❝I miss you.❞ // @rabbiitholes​​

Hearing those words from Jervis made her skin crawl. If it were someone else saying them, they might have filled her with warmth and a feeling of being wanted. But when he said them, it made her sick to her stomach. She thought she’d managed to shake him off – that she was able to stay off his radar and live a normal life. Apparently, she was wrong. With a deep breath, she clenched her fists at her sides, gaining the courage to look him in the eyes. Her bottom lip quivered as soon as she saw his face. It had haunted her dreams ever since she’d been brought back to life by Hugo. “I haven’t missed you, Jervis,” she told him, a tremble in her voice. “I’ve quite enjoyed not being controlled by my brother.”

Jon: I don't know that they had a straight face. It was odd circumstances.

Jon: I can and now I have. There are some things better left unsaid, Jervis.

Jon: I have none to spare but I'm sure Ed does if you're insistent.

Jervis: You know, I'm used to Eddie talking in riddles, not you. I'm just left so confused.

Jervis: You're really not going to tell little old me? Who would I even tell?